About

Jessica Kahler is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law at the University of Florida. She is also an affiliate faculty member for the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, Center for African Studies, and the Tropical Conservation and Development Program. Her academic background includes a PhD and MS in the human-dimensions of fisheries and wildlife from Michigan State University, as well as a BA in anthropology and a BS in natural resources management from The Ohio State University. Prior to her current position, Dr. Kahler consulted on the Wildlife Crime Initiative under the World Wildlife Fund-US and served in the US Peace Corps in the Republic of Vanuatu. Her research focuses on conservation criminology, specifically addressing human-wildlife conflicts, wildlife poaching, illegal trade and trafficking, community-based responses to environmental crime, and situational wildlife crime prevention, primarily within southern Africa and Southeast Asia. She has worked extensively in countries such as Cambodia, Cameroon, Indonesia, Madagascar, Namibia, the Republic of Congo, and Zambia, and is developing projects in the Caribbean and Latin America. Her scholarly work has been published in various peer-reviewed journals and books, and her research has been funded by organizations including the National Science Foundation.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Political Science
• Geography
• Environmental planning
• Ecology
• Environmental resource management
• Criminology
• Biology
• Economics
• Neuroscience
• Fishery

Selected publications

• Situational precipitators of environmental and wildlife crimes in Namibia and Sweden

  2025-04-10

  book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Applying Wortley's theoretical framework, this chapter reports on how prompts, pressures, permissions and provocations shape criminal opportunities in two distinct country contexts, informed by research in Namibia and Sweden. Findings reveal commonalities and distinctions in the factors precipitating crime, illustrated by instances of Namibian carnivore poaching and Swedish mining industries. The chapter concludes with recommendations for research and policy in both settings.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Framework to Analyze Primate Species Vulnerability to Trade in Urban Markets

  American Journal of Primatology · 2025-12-01

  articleOpen access

  Live primates are increasingly commodified and appropriated as inputs into markets, both at the international and domestic scales, and across physical and online platforms. We present a qualitative and quantitative framework that integrates concepts in primatology and conservation criminology toward understanding the characteristics that make different primate species vulnerable to trade in domestic urban markets. Our market-stage and live animal-focused framework relates primate characteristics to both supply- (i.e., opportunity-based) and demand-side (i.e., consumer-driven) variables. Supply-side variables include concealability, abundance, accessibility, and removability, while demand-side variables include processability, replaceability, usability, enjoyability, and value. We empirically test our framework using representative data from a specific urban market and time period in Indonesia (Medan, Sumatra; 1997-2008) to illustrate its utility in explaining why more individuals of certain species are detected in markets over others, and to elucidate the roles of supply- and demand-side drivers of trade within the focal context. Results from a principal component analysis show that both supply- (high abundance, accessibility, and concealability) and demand-side variables (high usability/ecological value, low rarity) explained the high detection of macaques and lorises in the wildlife markets of Medan during 1997-2008 when compared to the lower numbers of leaf monkey and gibbon species. This primate-focused conservation criminology framework is flexible and can be adapted to examine live primates in legal and illicit trade across other primate-range countries and scales, and in contexts beyond physical urban markets such as online fora.

  PublisherDOI

• Compliance on the Line: Black and Latinx fishers’ Perceptions of Motivations for Compliance and Law Enforcement Fairness in Florida’s Fisheries Sector

  Deviant Behavior · 2025-03-28

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• “Although elephants bring problems, they also bring benefits:” The complexities of human-wildlife coexistence

  Stacks. · 2024-07-03 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  As wildlife populations decline globally, there is a growing need to discover ways that humans and wildlife can sustainably coexist in shared landscapes. One way to assess the potential for human-wildlife coexistence is by examining human attitudes, perceptions, and tolerance of wildlife. However, the relationships between these interlinked concepts are not always clear. Furthermore, much of the research on human tolerance of wildlife to date fails to assess differences across species. Here, we use a novel application of ethnoecological methodologies (including free-listing and pile-sorting) to assess local people’s attitudes toward and tolerance of a variety of wildlife species. We conducted our study in Mukungule Game Management Area outside North Luangwa National Park in Zambia. Our results reveal significant nuance in people’s attitudes toward and tolerance of local wildlife. We found that people generally like local wildlife, but the positive attitudes did not always translate into tolerance of those wildlife species. Elephants (Loxodonta africana) were collectively considered the most liked, disliked, beneficial, and harmful (according to Smith’s Salience scores from free-listing), and 32 percent of participants were tolerant of elephants. We highlight the importance of assessing determinants of tolerance within a local and species-specific context.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• “I let it go:” Quantifying residential guardianship intentions when witnessing wildlife poaching

  Biological Conservation · 2022-12-14 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Introducing IPOACHED: A conservation criminology-based framework to understand wildlife species targeted by poachers in protected areas

  Frontiers in Conservation Science · 2022-12-20 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The criminogenic dimensions of conservation are highly relevant to contemporary protected area management. Research on crime target suitability in the field of criminology has built new understanding regarding how the characteristics of the crime targets affect their suitability for being targeted by offenders. In the last decade, criminologists have sought to apply and adapt target suitability frameworks to explain wildlife related crimes. This study seeks to build upon the extant knowledge base and advance adaptation and application of target suitability research. First, we drew on research, fieldwork, and empirical evidence from conservation science to develop a poaching-stage model with a focus on live specimens or wild animals - rather than a market stage and wildlife product -focused target suitability model. Second, we collected data in the Intensive Protection Zone of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (BBSNP), Sumatra, Indonesia through surveys with local community members (n=400), and a three-day focus group with conservation practitioners (n= 25). Our target suitability model, IPOACHED, predicts that species that are in-demand , passive , obtainable , all-purpose , conflict-prone , hideable , extractable , and disposable are more suitable species for poaching and therefore more vulnerable. When applying our IPOACHED model, we find that the most common response to species characteristics that drive poaching in BBSNP was that they are in-demand , with support for cultural or symbolic value (n=101 of respondents, 25%), ecological value (n=164, 35%), and economic value (n=234, 59%). There was moderate support for the conflict-prone dimension of the IPOACHED model (n=70, 18%). Other factors, such as a species lack of passiveness , obtainability and extractability , hamper poaching regardless of value. Our model serves as an explanatory or predictive tool for understanding poaching within a conservation-based management unit (e.g., a protected area) rather than for a specific use market (e.g., pets). Conservation researchers and practitioners can use and adapt our model and survey instruments to help explain and predict poaching of species through the integration of knowledge and opinions from local communities and conservation professionals, with the ultimate goal of preventing wildlife poaching.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Advancing Applied Research in Conservation Criminology Through the Evaluation of Corruption Prevention, Enhancing Compliance, and Reducing Recidivism

  Frontiers in Conservation Science · 2021 · 7 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Criminology

  Concomitant with an increase in the global illegal wildlife trade has been a substantial increase in research within traditional conservation-based sciences and conservation and green criminology. While the integration of criminological theories and methods into the wildlife conservation context has advanced our understanding of and practical responses to illegal wildlife trade, there remain discrepancies between the number of empirical vs. conceptual studies and a disproportionate focus on a few select theories, geographical contexts, and taxonomic groups. We present three understudied or novel applications of criminology and criminal justice research within the fields of fisheries, forestry, and wildlife conservation. First, we highlight criminological research on the application of corruption prevention in combating the illegal wildlife trade. Corruption has increasingly been getting attention from the non-governmental sector; however, there has been limited research aimed at understanding institutional opportunity structures, local conceptualizations of corruption, and the corresponding prevention strategies within conservation contexts. Second, we discuss the pre-emptive application of compliance theories when designing and monitoring Community-Based Conservation (CBC) programs such as community forestry, non-timber forest products, and community patrol programs. Applying opportunity theory and social development strategies are two suggestions to improve the effectiveness of CBCs in forestry and beyond. Finally, we present a discussion on recidivism (i.e., repeat offending) and non-instrumental or novel responses, utilizing illegal fishing as a case study. We present two alternative methods to traditional forms of punishment: restorative justice and community-based approaches. Lastly, we will present a diversity of priority research agendas within each of these topics.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Women and wildlife crime: hidden offenders, protectors and victims

  Oryx · 2021 · 10 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Criminology

  Abstract Gender is an explanatory factor in multiple dimensions of conservation, including women's access to and participation in conservation programmes, with gender bias in wildlife research persisting globally. There is reason to believe the current global wildlife crime crisis is no exception, with a lack of critical examination of gendered roles in security for biodiversity conservation. Despite the emergence of high-profile all-women ranger units (e.g. Akashinga in Zimbabwe) there has been a lack of systematic integration of gender within biodiversity protection. Theoretical and methodological applications from criminology have become progressively more common in response to an increase in a wide range of environmental crimes with consequences for women and their communities. Here we consider the implications of the lack of knowledge of women's direct and indirect roles in wildlife security. We used the criminology and conservation literature to identify key gaps in research, and relevant and robust typologies and frameworks informed by criminology to structure future research on women as offenders, protectors (handlers, managers, guardians) and victims of wildlife crime. We argue that more intentional research into the direct and indirect roles of women in wildlife crime is needed to address wildlife crime, protect biodiversity and support social justice in response to wildlife crimes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Public risk perceptions associated with Asian carp introduction and corresponding response actions

  Management of Biological Invasions · 2020 · 7 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Fishery
  • Geography
  • Biology

  Kahler, Jessica S., Liu, Rain Wuyu, Newcomb, Tammy J., Herbst, Seth, Gore, Meredith L. (2020): Public risk perceptions associated with Asian carp introduction and corresponding response actions. Management of Biological Invasions 11 (1): 80-95, DOI: 10.3391/mbi.2020.11.1.06, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/mbi.2020.11.1.06

  PublisherDOI

• Alarm call: innovative study highlights the need for robust conservation crime science to effectively impede specialized songbird trafficking

  Animal Conservation · 2020-04-01 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The illegal trafficking of wildlife is a prominent threat to biodiversity, human health and security, and sustainable development (Gore et al., 2019). The taxa and geographies impacted are diverse, as are the socioeconomic drivers of this illicit trade. As legal and illegal wildlife markets commingle and varied traditional uses of wildlife persist, evolve and converge across the planet, there are increasingly diverse actors participating, ranging from wildlife harvesters and intermediaries, who facilitate market transactions, to the final wildlife consumers (Phelps, Biggs & Webb, 2016). Unsurprisingly, there has been an exponential increase in research on wildlife crime among practitioners and scholars within the conservation and criminological sciences (Kahler & Gore, 2017; McFann & Pires, 2018). However, wildlife crime research has been largely qualitative or conceptual in orientation (McFann & Pires, 2018), biased toward the African context, focused predominantly on mammals and tends to be aimed at understanding ‘why’ (i.e. poacher perspective) rather than ‘how’ the crime takes place (Kahler & Gore, 2017). The study by Sánchez-Mercado et al. (2019) addresses many of these research gaps, by fusing qualitative and quantitative approaches of social network analysis to examine the typology of actors and the structure of the trade network of an endangered songbird in South America. Their focus on the trafficking of the Red Siskin (RS) Spinus cucullatus, a rare neo-tropical finch species, within the context of Venezuela facilitates theory testing with implications for designing critical interventions to reduce their illegal trade. In an innovative and interdisciplinary approach, the authors test the hypothesis that these high-valued birds would be subject to parallel trafficking, or movement alongside other illicit goods, given the situational factors of high corruption and criminality, and compromised governance and enforcement in Venezuela. Through the use of informants, expertise gleaned from prior research, and snowball sampling, the authors were able to conduct an impressive 108 interviews with a mixture of harvesters, intermediaries and consumers of the RS in Venezuela. Additionally, they compiled a complimentary database by monitoring online media platforms to find records of use, actors involved, and to better understand the geographic variations in RS demand and supply. The findings of Sánchez-Mercado et al. (2019) constitute an alarm call for the RS in Venezuela and beyond. The authors point out that the estimated extraction rate of 70 individual birds per year in western Venezuela may not be comparable to the trade volume of other passerine species. However, they aptly assert that proportional to the remaining wild RS population, estimated to be a few thousand, reducing the illegal trade will be a necessary part of species recovery. Furthermore, Sánchez-Mercado et al. (2019) found no evidence that the trade of RS was parallel to other illicit goods. Rather they found the network under scrutiny consists of opportunistic and specialist commercial harvesters, a variety of intermediaries including vendors, launderers, processors and third-party actors, and consumers that either owned or bred the birds. Additionally, their data suggest that a small group of specialized intermediary actors serve as a fulcrum within the supply network, connecting largely disconnected harvesters to markets. Lastly, Sánchez-Mercado et al. (2019) discover, in addition to domestic markets, evidence of regional and transcontinental trade. Data were indicative of Venezuela serving as a source to consumers as close as Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and the USA but also likely supplying breeders and consumers in the more distant markets of Europe and Asia. The findings presented by Sánchez-Mercado et al. (2019) show many consistencies with criminological studies of parrot poaching in Bolivia (Pires & Clarke, 2011) and Mexico (Pires & Clarke, 2012) and markets in Bolivia and Peru (Pires, 2015). These studies focus on the characteristics of the specific parrot species and how these characteristics hamper or facilitate their illegal trade. Consistent with this literature, the findings show a prevalence of specialist commercial harvesters, which is likely driven by the decreasing abundance and accessibility of the bird in western Venezuela. Additionally, demand-side factors in national and international markets are likely to play a role in increasing the number of intermediary actors during the trafficking stage as these facilitators connect increasingly specialized harvesters with affluent consumers (e.g. Pires, 2015). This study by Sánchez-Mercado et al. (2019) is complementary and timely, adding to our understanding of ‘how’ and ‘why’ diverse actors connect within an illegal rare avian market. Survey research on illicit wildlife trafficking is subject to bias and low levels of cooperation among some actors (e.g. Kahler et al., 2019). The authors acknowledge the research biases that result from their sampling strategy and the use of the self-reporting method. Nonethelss, the authors did not directly ask interviewees if they engaged in non-RS-related illegal activities, a central determinant of the parallel trafficking hypothesis. They rely on an arguable assumption that reporting their RS-trade activities as risky may indicate additional criminal behaviors or that interviewees would willingly disclose additional, potentially more serious, criminal behavior. However, it has been found that interviewees may be willing to self-report illicit behavior seen as less risky or serious while failing to disclose behaviors with higher risk or greater consequences (Junger-Tas & Marshall, 1999). Additionally, those with more serious criminal profiles may refuse to participate in surveys all together, leading to non-response bias (Junger-Tas & Marshall, 1999). In conclusion, Sánchez-Mercado et al. (2019) diligently acknowledge that future evidence may emerge indicating parallel trafficking of RS, while making the compelling case that there is a conservation need to respond to the current specialized RS trafficking network within Venezuela. The lessons learned from this novel study lend themselves to what the authors call an ‘induction’ approach, which leverages more targeted interventions at well-connected, central actor types to change behavior along the supply chain from harvester to consumer. It is very likely that Sánchez-Mercado et al. (2019) discovered ‘the tip of the RS trade iceberg (p. 10)’ in terms of the scale of illegal harvest, the actors involved, and the geographic scope. Studies like this are paramount to advance more robust conservation crime science (Kahler & Gore, 2017) and craft more nuanced and context-specific interventions.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Meredith L. Gore

  21 shared

• Gary J. Roloff

  4 shared

• Christian J. Rivera

  2 shared

• Seth J. Herbst

  1 shared

• Pilar Morales-Giner

  1 shared

• Marisa A. Rinkus

  Michigan State University

  1 shared

• Rachel Boratto

  Wildlife Conservation Society Canada

  1 shared

• Liliana Vanegas

  1 shared

Labs

• Computational Sociology and Criminology LabPI